tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67897143004860216942024-03-05T12:46:11.879-08:00Days in GermanyCassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-63304852745060868752010-06-23T03:55:00.000-07:002010-06-23T03:57:28.313-07:00Rolling on.Since when did caring too much become a bad thing?<div>You have to believe in the possibility of change before change can happen. </div><div><br /></div><div>Frozen images. In my head. Come back. Everything's thawed. And's been molding in my Abwesenheit. </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-79076458420378887222010-05-31T05:21:00.000-07:002010-05-31T05:26:23.017-07:00Pathetic!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal;font-size:16px;">"</span></span>HELL IS not empty. On the contrary, according to the Holy See’s Promoter Of Justice, Msgr Charles Scicluna, hell is full of paedophile priests.</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; ">Speaking on Saturday in St Peter’s at a service of reparation for abuse committed by priests, Msgr Scicluna suggested that priests guilty of paedophile abuse were destined for particular punishment in the afterlife "</p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU SHOULDN'T TOUCH KIDS SEXUALLY BECAUSE YOU'LL GO TO A SPECIAL HELL? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SAY YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT BECAUSE IT MESSES UP THE CHILDREN? </span></span></p><p style="line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p></span></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-82948535541077497202010-05-24T04:11:00.000-07:002010-05-24T04:12:24.215-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 20px; ">Travelling north, travelling north to find you<br />Train wheels beating, the wind in my eyes<br />Don't even know what I'll find when I get to you<br />Call out your name love, don't be surprised<br /><br />It's so many miles and so long since I've left you<br />Don't even know what I'll find when I get to you<br />But suddenly now, I know where I belong<br />It's many hundred miles and it won't be long<br /><br />Nothing at all, in my head, to say to you<br />Only the beat of the train I'm on<br />Nothing I've learned all my life on the way to you<br />One day our love was over and gone<br /><br />It's so many miles and so long since I've met you<br />Don't even know what I'll say when I get to you<br />But suddenly now, I know where I belong<br />It's many hundred miles and it won't be long<br /><br />What will I do if there's someone there with you<br />Maybe someone you've always known<br />How do I know I can come and give to you<br />Love with no warning and find you alone<br /><br />It's so many miles and so long since I've met you<br />Don't even know what I'll find when I get to you<br />But suddenly now, I know where I belong<br />It's many hundred miles and it won't be long<br /><br />It won't be long<br />It won't be long<br />It won't be long</span>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-28977888214137812342010-05-23T02:09:00.000-07:002010-05-23T02:11:44.315-07:00My life is unreal. This weather has made me pretty much euphoric. I have pictures of Muenster but I don't want to show them to anyone because it does not do the past two days justice. So very lucky. I love life; I love living. <div><br /></div><div>Wake up and appreciate things!</div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-27520240812370665952010-05-20T11:00:00.001-07:002010-05-20T11:10:24.971-07:00Neue Gedanke, neue Wörter.Warum mag ich Deutsch so sehr? Es ist eigentlich unerklärbar aber trotzdem wahr. Ich schreibe eine Hausarbeit über meinen Arbeit bei der englischen Preschool und Zweispracherwerb und muss dafür viel recherchieren. Obwohl es viel Arbeit braucht, bin ich froh, weil ich so viel lerne, besonders die Fachwörter, die man für die Linguistik braucht. Ich bin auch gespannt die Dinge, die ich lerne, in die Wirklichkeit zu sehen. <div><br /></div><div>Die Wahrnehmung und die Sprache entwickeln gleichzeitig...was bedeutet das für den Zweispracherwerb? Was bedeutet das für Nationalitäten? Sehe ich die Welt irgendwie anders, bzw. anders als eine Deutsche nur weil ich Englisch als Muttersprache habe? </div><div><br /></div><div>Gute Fragen finde ich, aber ich kann dir noch nicht alles erklären. Mal sehen, was ich herausfinde. :) Bin gespannt. </div><div><br /></div><div>Wir kommen nicht mehr zusammen. Ist mir gestern eingefallen. Scheisse! FUCK. Scheisse. </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-47276326276295831642010-05-13T03:04:00.000-07:002010-05-13T04:20:41.595-07:00Ok. Yesterday was bad, but don't think that I'm having a miserable time here. I need some Vitamin D in my system and the sun is refusing to shine. How much longer before it comes back from its strike?<div><br /></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-21303122585783742572010-05-12T04:50:00.001-07:002010-05-12T05:04:11.978-07:00Explosion frustrationHello again. <div><br /></div><div>Do you ever get sick of yourself? </div><div><br /></div><div>I can hardly stand myself right now. It's like I'm so afraid of being a certain way that I'm inadvertently becoming exactly that which I don't want to be. I am so self absorbed, self loathing, yet constantly trying to prove myself which, as you can imagine, leads yet again into the cycle of getting something in my head, half heartedly attempting it, failing, knowing I would fail, telling myself it's ok, I didn't really try that hard anyway, etc. It's disgusting and I hate it. An 'out' that I have, out of the work that I have to do here is thinking about going home. If my mind is in the future and in Kansas, I don't even realize that I'm not doing what I need to here. It's all fairly optional, but only in that I'm not held responsible for any of the information until finals, but having gone through that last semester, I know that that is no way to do a class. It sucks. It is hard. You end up with acceptable but less than ideal grades. Freaking Geschichte der Industralisierung. Ich hasse dich. </div><div><br /></div><div>This morning, for instance, (too many commas? I use a lot of commas. They seem to fit everywhere.) I got up at 7.45am. Plenty of time to get all the reading done, run, cook myself something yummy, and surf around the internet for a while. Ask me. Ask how much of that I have accomplished today. I didn't even smoke, as is the the normal reason for my lack of actual progress. I got NO reading done. One page. (Sidenote: An article on German literary tendencies and time periods/classifications proved doch zu schaffen, aber das war fast ohne Wert. Ohne massbare Wert soll ich sagen.) </div><div><br /></div><div>The worst part of hating yourself is how self absorbed you have to be to do so. I wouldn't have this problem if I were more focused on the work to be done instead of myself and how I'm <i>feeling. </i>God. This sucks. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's all I feel like writing right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>But even though this is a weird phase, life is good. Life is always good. Remember that, for only when that is forgotten is hope lost. Things will get better. They always do. </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-3277534436343145092010-05-10T13:32:00.001-07:002010-05-10T13:32:49.765-07:00Das momentarische Ich<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 11px; ">I'm gonna make a mistake<br />I'm gonna do it on purpose<br />I'm gonna waste my time<br /><br />'Cause I'm full as a tick<br />And I'm scratching at the surface<br />And what I find is mine<br /><br />And when the day is done, and I look back<br />And the fact is I had fun, fumbling around<br />All the advice I shunned, and I ran<br />Where they told me not to run, but I sure had fun, so<br /><br />I'm gonna fuck it up again<br />I'm gonna do another detour<br />Unpave my path<br /><br />And if you wanna make sense<br />What you looking at me for<br />I'm no good at math<br /><br />And when I find my way back<br />The fact is I just may stay, or I may not<br />I've acquired quite a taste for<br />A well-made mistake I wanna make a mistake<br />Why can't I make a mistake?<br /><br />I'm always doing what I think I should<br />Almost always doing everybody good<br />Why<br /><br />Do I wanna do right, of course but<br />Do I really wanna feel I'm forced to<br />Answer you, hell no<br />I've acquired quite a taste for<br />A well-made mistake, I wanna make a mistake<br />Why can't I make a mistake<br /><br />I'm always doing what I think I should<br />Almost always doing everybody good<br />Why</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 11px; "><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">Fiona Apple</span></span></div></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-2331265184270389702010-04-29T11:47:00.001-07:002010-04-29T11:48:24.158-07:00BraveryI turn on the TV when I don't want to think of anything, not a single thing. <div>The TV is on but all I want to do is think. </div><div>Of anything. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is really hard. </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-43992844017955457802010-04-26T13:18:00.001-07:002010-04-29T11:48:50.985-07:00Was ich will.<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#551A8B;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">And if the snow buries my<br />My neighborhood<br />And if my parents are crying<br />Then I'll dig a tunnel<br />From my window to yours<br />Yeah, a tunnel from my window to yours<br /><br />You climb out the chimney<br />And meet me in the middle<br />The middle of the town<br />And since there's no one else around<br />We let our hair grow long<br />And forget all we used to know<br />Then our skin gets thicker<br />From living out in the snow<br /><br />You change all the lead<br />Sleeping in my head<br />As the day grows dim<br />I hear you sing a golden hymn<br /><br />Then we tried to name our babies<br />But we forgot all the names that<br />The names we used to know<br />But sometimes, we remember our bedrooms<br />And our parent's bedrooms<br />And the bedrooms of our friends<br />Then we think of our parents<br />Well, what ever happened to them<br /><br />You change all the lead<br />Sleeping in my head to gold<br />As the day grows dim<br />I hear you sing a golden hymn<br />The song I've been trying to sing<br /><br />Purify the colors, purify my mind<br />Purify the colors, purify my mind<br />And spread the ashes of the colors<br />Over this heart of mine!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:10px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px;font-size:10px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;">This is the most romantic song. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"> </span></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-61920416585595042632010-04-26T03:38:00.001-07:002010-04-26T13:20:17.777-07:00Das Leben ist schoen. Das Leben ist verwirrend.Dieser Zeitpunkt des Lebens ist chaotisch und scheint immer durcheinander zu sein. Ich weiss nicht, ob ich das mag oder nicht. Es ist doch spannend, dass alles was ich im nächsten Jahr entscheide so wichtig ist, aber das heisst, dass ich Angst kriege, dass ich was falsch machen werde. Meine Mutter hat mich gestern informiert, dass sie ab nächstes Jahr mir nicht mehr mit meiner finanzielle Situation helfen wird. Ich verstehe ganz genau warum sie nicht mehr helfen kann, aber jetzt bin ich unter Druck gesetzt, Geld zu verdienen. Der Zustand mit meinem ehemaligen Freund ist auch was neues, weil ich nicht mehr weiss, was ich von ihm will. Seit einige Tage habe ich mir gedacht, wie schoen es wäre, ein Jahr in Spanien zu verbringen. Früher wollte ich Englisch in Brasilien unterrichten, aber ich denke die Atmosphäre in Spanien sehr hilfsvoll und entspannend wäre, eine neue Sprache zu lernen. Die Jobs, die ich haben will, benötigen Englisch-Spanisch zweisprachige Leute. AHHHAHAHHAA. Ich will Abenteuer. Aber ich will ihn. Die Frage könnte wohl sein: will er mich? <div><br /></div><div>So viele ausländische Studenten/innen kommen zu Innovation Point und ich frage mich WARUM? Ich stimme zu, dass Innovation Point sehr geniessbar ist, aber warum so viele Ausländische? </div><div><br /></div><div>Ich weiss nicht wie ein Erwachsene zu sein. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ich finde morgen heraus ob ich den Job bei KU Auslands Amt bekommen habe oder nicht. Ich hoffffffffeeeeee schon. </div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday mornings in Bonn in the Spring are possibly one of the most pleasant things I've experienced. The sights, smells, and sounds are completely different than they were in the Winter. Hello big, beautiful Magnolia and Cherry Blossom trees. Hello warm sun. Hello rich green grass of the Hofgarten. Ich liebe Bonn und Deutsch sprechen und will niemals nach Hause. Scheisse. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>ICH WILL EIN ABENTEUERLICHES LEBEN. ICH WILL NIE ARBEITEN ODER VERANTWORTUNG HABEN. Is that too much to ask?</div><div><br /></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-80365374181808094972010-04-20T11:05:00.000-07:002010-04-20T13:10:00.749-07:00<ol><li> The fact that we have to pay for education in America is abhorrent to me. To have an educated society who not only have passed classes but who actually have been taught to think and reason is the most valuable asset a country can have. Why then would we make it so financially strenuous that only the very wealthy can study what they want and all others must make it quickly through university, studying something 'reasonable' in order to produce the most amount of money in the end. Our whole culture is whirling around this idiotic human construction called money when we should be more concerned with having worthwhile citizens. </li></ol><div>I have a lot more to say but I am myself bemuehen und deswegen sage ich auf wiedersehen. Ich mache meine Hausafgaben wie ein braves Maedchen. </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-28256209853019528112010-04-16T05:41:00.000-07:002010-04-16T06:17:15.150-07:00Biking is all I do<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br />I LOVE BIKING! <div>Unfortunately I have a shit-man-bike whose gears are messed up and who rattles everywhere I take it. However, the one redeeming quality (other than that it does, in fact, go) is its seat, which is a beautiful shade of green. </div><div><br /></div><div>I ride it to my internship three days a week (the other days too, but not as much) and have become increasingly more in love with bike riding. I think that I'll invest in a good road bike when I get home. </div><div><br /></div><div>I ride thirty minutes down the main street through the old government quarter from when Bonn was the capital. The buildings were just business buildings when the government moved in, and resumed being business buildings when the government moved out. Men in black suits rolling briefcases in my bike lane give me looks that are mixed between envious and resentful. I can't tell if they are wanting to be me, free and fast on my bike, or if they are unimpressed and irritated that <i>I've </i>gotten in <i>their </i>way. From the German kids whose parents can afford to send them to the English preschool (for another post: how stinkingggggggggg cute they are) I go to Tannenbusch, the poorer part of Bonn. I help the kids there with their English homework, but my ride to Tannenbusch (where there is a high concentration of Middle Eastern immigrants) is much different than to Bad Godesberg (upper middle class). I wanted to somehow explain the shocking disparity that I am confronted with, but all of the sudden I have no words which are not cliche or devoid of real meaning. I'll just say that it's alarming. It's a different world that these kids live in--and they're only 15 min away from each other by car. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's not what I wanted to write about though! I just wanted to say: Hey! You! Get out of my bike lane! </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I <i>love love love</i> cold coffee.</div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-90402154164072248762010-04-15T11:40:00.000-07:002010-04-15T22:34:11.592-07:00Higher!1. Poppelsdorferallee is one again like driving under a balcony of trees<div>2. Mechanics of people flow in and out of a bottleneck..the logistics, psychology of it.</div><div> </div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-90219422414581383782010-04-12T05:39:00.000-07:002010-04-12T05:43:15.255-07:00There is no word to describe life.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSKBQTQNjXjfrAgps2d4BhrKW4Y4wkAhlitNfmi5Frg8d7uf4YKwW-d9-shXbj1YRb2UO0NtoTM-3_Qssv6XDohDuRUDOwZ5rW8UHX9j-_2hRMloFc6mUfhaxCsu-f0FexgADT4WpKos/s1600/149txjt.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSKBQTQNjXjfrAgps2d4BhrKW4Y4wkAhlitNfmi5Frg8d7uf4YKwW-d9-shXbj1YRb2UO0NtoTM-3_Qssv6XDohDuRUDOwZ5rW8UHX9j-_2hRMloFc6mUfhaxCsu-f0FexgADT4WpKos/s400/149txjt.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459230273589536946" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; "> took my lucky break and I broke it in two,<br />Put on my worried shoes, my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">Took me so many miles and they never wore out,<br />My worried shoes, my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">Oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo, my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">I made a mistake that I never forgot,<br />Tied knots in the laces of my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">Every step that I take is another mistake,<br />I march further and further away in my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">Oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo, oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo, my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">My shoes took me down a crooked path,<br />Away from all welcome mats,<br />My worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">I looked all around and saw the sun shining down,<br />Took off my worried shoes, my worried shoes,<br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">Oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo, oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo, oo-o-o-oo o-oo-ooo,<br />My worried shoes.</p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; ">I will never believe in mistakes. I can't! Things just happen like they happen. And that's it. And everything is ok. </p></span>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-54807880926417196232010-04-05T01:14:00.000-07:002010-04-05T01:20:21.487-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsxE7-AJDZpOJPoPOQWC38BMxFr49r5EcbxBp_eQ2HemHEcBjJ2J0hriC1g91shDHTPc7xtluwN7UCsU5iOOXfG_p_iEUX_mASWn8xlBd_lcwP3E7lika3LzwwVQlv1YnHpqIFtYa9BI/s1600/zug.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsxE7-AJDZpOJPoPOQWC38BMxFr49r5EcbxBp_eQ2HemHEcBjJ2J0hriC1g91shDHTPc7xtluwN7UCsU5iOOXfG_p_iEUX_mASWn8xlBd_lcwP3E7lika3LzwwVQlv1YnHpqIFtYa9BI/s400/zug.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456565287441750274" /></a><br />"I could think about the past and what I'd been through as I struggled to locate myself and learn what the heart is. Perhaps in the future I would live more deeply. And so I sat in the center of this old city that I loved..I was surrounded by people I loved, and I felt happy and miserable at the same time. I thought of what a mess everything had been, but that it wouldn't always be that way." From The Buddha of Suburbia. An alright book although I would not necessarily recommend it.Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-40401783793918890332010-03-22T13:38:00.000-07:002010-03-22T13:48:49.212-07:00Common Sense?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OQG1wyGBFWEN6vlKuhMgNnoiRlBHVdP4HTKEWgegSS2IWBa4JI8sc3yTs0WcJhwanMPtqDj6UhYeNE1r_KQDW3yayX6kkJ9c9WwfTowlmHN7E0HO2M8M78vOHASyTbjODMoH49anKLw/s1600-h/seifrei.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OQG1wyGBFWEN6vlKuhMgNnoiRlBHVdP4HTKEWgegSS2IWBa4JI8sc3yTs0WcJhwanMPtqDj6UhYeNE1r_KQDW3yayX6kkJ9c9WwfTowlmHN7E0HO2M8M78vOHASyTbjODMoH49anKLw/s400/seifrei.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451561533287086626" /></a>It's hard, but I believe in you. You can shirk off everything you've been inundated with and you can live simply and smartly. Take the power into YOUR hands and see what YOU really think is important. Above all else, I hope you can be so brave as to live what you believe. Find something you believe in and live it. Don't be afraid to tell people your values. Sing and scream and push and persist...but do it. You have the choice to live life blindly or live decidedly. I have found things which I believe in and if it kills me, I will live accordingly. Nothing is more disgusting than the person who says one thing and does another. Please, be strong. Be someone you can respect. <div><br /></div><div><br />Live what you believe. <div>Lebe so wie das, was du glaubst. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm getting radical. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Starting</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>NOW.</div></div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-83296357674175352602009-10-27T12:15:00.001-07:002009-10-27T12:20:21.156-07:00Uh oh. The Heimweh is starting in.<br /><br />While I am loving it here, I suddenly want to be back home, camping or going to the lake, hopping on Mass, sitting in Aimee's Cafe doing homework, walking up the ridiculous hills to campus, snuggling in close to JB's neck, calling my mom on a CELL PHONE, sitting in independent, stand alone desks, being warm in a well lit room, having sunshine for more than one day a week, etc.<br /><br />I MISS MY HOME. It wouldn't be so bad if someone who I love were here with me. But as it is, everyone who I really, really care about is 4,500 miles away and I want nothing more than to be with you (Ideally you would come HERE, as opposed to me goingTHERE, but I'm willing to negotiate).<br /><br />I love you and misssss youuu!Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-57595361685606173212009-10-16T02:40:00.000-07:002009-10-16T03:26:46.645-07:00HEllo to all. Again.<br /><br />Instead of focusing on how I've been a lazy blogger, let's think of how nice it is that it's getting cold. Wait. It WOULD be nice if I had gloves. Or a winter coat. Oh yeah, I left those in Kansas when I was packing. WHAT A GOOD IDEA. :)<br /><br />I've been in Bonn for a month and a half now and I heard a dog bark for the first time yesterday. How pleasant it is that dogs are so polite here. They make it so much easier for their owners to take them everywhere they go, and so their owners do. Even in the ritzy-est department stores (bras started at 67 Euro!), you will see dogs being picked up because they don't want to go on the escalators. It tickles me silly every time.<br /><br />I had been thinking that I'd been getting pretty good at the whole accent thing, but two sentences out of my mouth asking to be able to take his class, my teacher asks 'Sie kommen aus Amerika, oder?'. Translation: 'you are from America, right?'. Daaaaang.Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-84366753824503311272009-10-05T15:05:00.001-07:002009-10-05T15:05:31.252-07:00I am so lucky.Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-36491642167273918552009-09-13T02:46:00.000-07:002009-09-13T04:57:15.615-07:00Kulturelle Unterschiede<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BX9oLaTe5IQUyVU7H3Y11ymZZrAtGreZZ2xyep9WKq-5MJ9HT5vxcOaHJ-9QHwaAz74z7lfNFH0kDwjT1zyTRSkLe0-vFzybEZG4DHNq7Yh_RNWyA0gQJyMHCY-A0GvFQvTmsyswtXs/s1600-h/spass2+014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BX9oLaTe5IQUyVU7H3Y11ymZZrAtGreZZ2xyep9WKq-5MJ9HT5vxcOaHJ-9QHwaAz74z7lfNFH0kDwjT1zyTRSkLe0-vFzybEZG4DHNq7Yh_RNWyA0gQJyMHCY-A0GvFQvTmsyswtXs/s400/spass2+014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380919052351267298" border="0" /></a><br />Cultural differences.<br /><br />Bonn is in the Rheinland, a picture which brings lots of thoughts to mind. It's the area of German wine, beautiful landscape, tree-ed little mountains, castles everywhere, and has been fought over between France and Germany forever. Everyone wants it because it's so productive and so beautiful. Being in the heart of German wineries, we went to a vineyard/winery on Friday for a 'Weinprobe', or a wine tasting. They fed us a typical meal of buttered bread, cheeses, sliced meats, and potato salad. And then we had the wines. Six of them. What were they thinking? And Asians who didn't want their wine. So they gave it all to us. Once again, what was the international office thinking? We had to split up into our countries, decide on a song from our country and sing it as a group for everyone. It was SO funny to see everyone chanting and doing cute little actions to accompany their song, we were all laughing and getting out of our chairs to see, etc. At the end of the wine tasting, we were making such a ruckus that they ushered us out of there quickly and somewhat forcefully. By forcefully I mean that the leader of the program was giving many stern faces and threatening us with the prospect of being sent home if we drank the wine on the bus that we had bought from the winery.<br /><br />So, despite how much I wanted to prove the stereotype of drunken Americans wrong, neither I nor the other Americans succeeded. What a mess.<br /><br />Cultural differences that I've noticed thus far:<br />1. Germans drink without getting drunk. Often.<br />2. Chinese teenagers don't date unless they plan on marrying that person.<br />3. Germans often wear the same outfit for two or so days in a row.<br />4. Everything is smaller. Ovens, refrigerators, bathrooms, products from the grocery store, streets, coffees, etc. I have the feeling they're less concerned with accumulating stuff. The apartments here are much smaller (I've been riding my bike around at night, looking in...yes, very creepy of me, but enlightening as well), so they have less room for stuff. I have to go to the market or grocery store EVERY day. My fruit goes bad and containers get empty so quickly.<br />5. Don't smile at people on the street, they will think you're weird..or American.<br />6. Don't apologize for getting in someone's way, just get out of it.<br />7. They are very serious about their recycling and about not using plastic bags.<br />8. Black is the color to wear.<br />9. They party soooo much longer into the night than we do at home. The clubs/bars are open until 5am or later.<br />10. Groceries are SO cheap.<br />11. No matter what time of day it is, you will always be able to see people sitting at cafes, drinking coffee.<br />12. No matter what time of day it is, you will nearly always be able to see someone eating DELICIOUS ice cream. But no one is fat! They're always eating sweets, but really, no one is overweight.<br />13. To an American, Germans seem pretty confrontational. It's not nearly as big of a difference as it would be comparing an Italian and an American, but the gap is definitely there.<br />14. There is much less variety in...well, nearly everything. I wanted to buy a cleaner for the shower...and had something like 3 choices. In America, there's a whole aisle committed to different types of cleaners.<br />15. I MISS TARGET. A lot.<br /><br />So, keeping my American mind and adapting to life in Germany is as hard as I thought it would be. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not on vacation, that this is my life now. I can't wait to start real classes at the University and I love love love hearing and speaking German all day.<br /><br />I miss you all,<br />CassandraCassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-59153665013928981882009-08-24T14:12:00.000-07:002009-08-24T14:13:46.093-07:00My New Phone Number...as of next Monday. You can call it from your phone and ring my computer. Free for you and also has the coooool capability of voicemail. <div><br /></div><div>913.945.1143</div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789714300486021694.post-50843072384565530962009-08-24T12:44:00.001-07:002009-08-24T13:15:49.865-07:00Wait, you're not gone yet?No folks. I haven't left yet. I can't tell you how many times I was stopped as I walked down Jayhawk Blvd., feeling like a foreigner in my own town, people asking me the question , "Wait...Cassie? Shouldn't you be in Germany?". I most often just smile and answer, "Nope. That's next week."<div><br /></div><div>While I thought it would be nice to be able to see everyone start school and hear predictions for the future of their classes and not leave until everyone was semi-settled into their new Fall Semester lives, I'm finding it to be more difficult and uncomfortable than I had imagined. I feel as if I am stuck in limbo as everyone else lurches forward into their new routine. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to go. But I don't want to leave everything I know. I can't wait to start MY business as usual just as everyone else already has. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, I am excited to go. Finally. </div><div>Yes, I am scared of the new. Surprise, surprise. </div><div>Yes, I will MISS YOU.</div><div>I love you all and thank you for understanding!</div>Cassandra in Deutschlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11376886545874098578noreply@blogger.com0